BJP will do away with system of reservations if elected to power once more, says MK Stalin

Villupuram (Tamil Nadu): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday said the BJP is against 'reservation and social justice' and there will be 'no system of reservation' in the country if the saffron party is elected to power at the Centre once again.

Addressing an election rally at Vikravandi near here, Stalin said he has been describing the current Lok Sabha polls in his poll campaigns as the country's second freedom movement, as there is a danger to reservations for marginalised classes if the BJP comes back to power.

"The country is facing a very big danger. There is a danger to the reservation for Backward and Most Backward Classes (MBCs), the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and minorities," he alleged, while addressing voters in this northern district of Tamil Nadu, which has a sizeable MBC population.

'What kind of a threat is this? I will give two examples: There are not even three per cent of secretaries belonging to the Backward Classes in the Central government. Even today, in the Union-government-administered higher educational institutions, aspirants belonging to OBCs, SCs and STs are not selected to posts such as professor and assistant professor by way of reservation.

"You must think about this. Only the past two-to-three generations of people belonging to Backward, Most Backward, SC and ST communities have got educated and secured dignified employment positions. What is the reason? It is only due to reservation and social justice got by us through struggle," Stalin pointed out.

He reminded them that despite the struggle, complete and appropriate representation for all such communities could not be obtained even till date. "Who is responsible for that? It is the BJP. They are endangering the reservation system," he alleged.

"This is leading to a struggle every time to secure reservation which is our right. BJP is out-and-out against reservation and social justice. There will be no system of reservation in India if the BJP is elected to power once again. They will bury social justice and take back our people 100 years behind. That is why we are opposing the BJP," the DMK chief explained.

The PMK, an ally of the BJP has electoral heft in the northern regions of the state, where Vanniyars, belonging to the MBCs, are a key vote in deciding the fate of candidates in a number of constituencies.